Double-decker cars have appeared on Russian railways for just a few years, but they have already gained popularity among passengers. Russian Railways' double-decker trains run mainly in a southerly direction from Moscow and St. Petersburg. Let's look at how they differ from regular trains and whether a ticket to a new carriage is so expensive.
What is a 2-story train?
There is no reserved seat in this train - only coupe and SV. There are 36 seats in a regular compartment carriage, and 64 berths in the new two-story carriage. SV, on the other hand, can accommodate 30 people instead of 18. Also, the new train has staff compartment cars with 50 seats, while single-deck cars have only 18-24 such seats.
The carriages consist of 4-seater or 2-seater insulated compartments located on two floors. The compartments are glazed with double-glazed windows and have: a berth, a table, mirrors, shelves for small items, lamps, and stairs for climbing to the top place. They are equipped with two sockets for connecting electric shavers, mobile and other devices with a power of no more than 100 W. In the 2-seater compartment (SV), each seat has an LCD display for viewing video programs.
You can open a compartment in a double-decker carriage using an individual magnetic key card.
All new carriages are equipped with three dry toilets, which can be used when the train is stopped. Russian Railways also took into account the special needs of people with disabilities by providing them with special compartments and wheelchair lifts (in the staff car). They also took care of the rest of the passengers - all stairs are equipped with strong handrails, and there are air conditioning and heating systems for a comfortable microclimate.
Double deck train route
The first double-decker cars ran only in a southern direction, mainly from Moscow and St. Petersburg. In 2018, the list has been slightly expanded:
| Train number | Route |
| branded № 642/641 |
Rostov-on-Don - Adler |
| branded № 003/004 |
Kislovodsk - Moscow (only from Kislovodsk, a single-decker train goes in the opposite direction) |
| branded № 23/24 |
Moscow - Kazan |
| branded No. 5/6 and No. 25/26 |
Moscow, Saint Petersburg |
| branded № 103/104 |
Moscow - Adler |
| branded No. 738/737 and No. 740ZH/739ZH |
Moscow - Voronezh |
| passenger № 49/50 |
Moscow - Samara |
| branded № 35/36 |
St. Petersburg - Adler |
| passenger № 26/25 |
Moscow - Izhevsk (will be launched from December 9, 2018, you can already book tickets) |
Cost of travel in a double-decker carriage
There are more passenger seats in one double-decker carriage than in a regular single-decker. Accordingly, the price of train tickets should be lower. Is it so?
Russian Railways uses a dynamic pricing system. For example, if you look at tickets for a double-decker train on Friday, they will be more expensive than on Monday or another weekday. It is worth considering that as the seats fill up and in case of high demand for a specific date, the tariff will increase slightly.
For example, a Friday ticket from Moscow to Kazan in a compartment costs from 4,726 rubles.
If you buy belit for the same train on Monday, it will cost less.
What services are available on the double decker train?
The fare includes: bed linen and drinking water. In the compartment, the conductors cover only the upper berths, in the SV - all of them. Passengers will be offered sanitary and hygiene kits of improved quality. There are additional services for a fee: tea, newspapers, confectionery, souvenirs and other goods.
Everyone knows that smoking is prohibited on trains. Therefore, conductors legally sell electronic cigarettes for smoking passengers, which can be used in the corridor.
Advantages and disadvantages of double-decker cars
The new type of cars has significant advantages:
- shortest travel time and convenient schedule for a larger number of passengers;
- reduced cost of tickets for compartments and SV due to an increase in the number of seats in the carriage;
- environmentally friendly operation - energy is supplied from an electric locomotive, and the cars are created using new technologies, equipment and materials.
However, there are also disadvantages. Firstly, there are only two conductors, and there are 28 more passengers in a double-decker carriage. Therefore, tea will be brought slower than in a reserved seat. And boarding the car takes longer.
Secondly, the new carriages do not have a luggage rack above the entrance. All luggage must be placed under the lower shelves. Naturally, it will not be possible to place all the things.
Thirdly, you can only visit the restroom or get boiling water on the ground floor. Therefore, passengers wishing to drink tea or freshen up will have to go down to the first floor. This is not very convenient, and the risk of injury in a moving train is very high.
27.04.2019, 13:00
In the not too distant future, JSC Russian Railways plans to completely replace reserved seats on long-distance routes with comfortable and economical double-decker cars. It is likely that our grandchildren will never know what a side shelf on a toilet is. In the meantime, we propose to take a ride on one of these trains together and see how it works from the inside. 
You will appreciate the most important advantage of double-decker trains at the stage of purchasing travel documents. If you have to pay 3,500 rubles for a ticket in a compartment of a single-decker train, then a similar seat in a two-decker train will cost 1,500 rubles less. It turns out that you can ride in a compartment of a brand new double-decker carriage for the price of a reserved seat. 
We go inside, and the first thing that pleasantly impresses is the automatic doors in the vestibule, which open and close automatically when you press a button. In the transitions between cars it is no longer scary, it is warm and light. 
Let's go inside. We see various technical rooms and toilets. 
Each carriage has three dry closets, which can be used even during stops. 
Opposite the toilets there are separate waste collection containers. 
We go down the steps and find ourselves in the corridor on the first floor. The ceiling height here is just over 2 meters. 
This is what the compartment on the first floor looks like. There is no locker under the lower seat. On the top shelf you can ride lying down or half-sitting; you won’t be able to sit upright here. 
The door to the compartment is locked using a magnetic card. All carriages are compartment cars, there is no reserved seat. 
The windows are sealed tightly. The air temperature is maintained by a built-in ventilation and heating system, the grilles of which are located on the ceiling and under the window. A sliding curtain protects passengers from the sun's rays in hot weather. 
Each compartment has two sockets. They are not located under the table, as in single-decker trains, but in more accessible places. 
In order to climb to the second shelf, you will have to step on a small ladder that extends out of the wall on the side of the front door. 
The usual titanium with boiling water is not here. It was replaced by a regular office cooler installed in the conductors' compartment. There is also a microwave oven here. 
We go up to the second floor. The steps of the staircase are illuminated, as if in a movie theater. There are handrails. On the stairs you can see another trash can and a round mirror, which reflects passengers walking towards them. 
The second floor is constructed in the same way as the first, except for the sloping roof and windows located at waist level. To admire the scenery, the passenger will have to bend over. 
The numbering of seats raises questions. On the first floor there are seats 1 to 32, on the second - from 81 to 112. This is strange, considering that there are only 64 seats in a double-decker carriage. 
The next photo shows a compartment on the second floor. There is a ventilation grill built into the ceiling, and a speaker with volume control is located in the center. There are two LED lights on each top shelf. 
The remaining interior elements are identical to the compartments on the ground floor. By the way, a person 180 cm tall can easily fit on the bed. Tested personally. 
Each passenger receives a hygiene kit, water and a small food ration. Hot drinks are traditionally served in branded glass holders. 
The dining car is now also two-story. There is a full dining room on the second floor. Sitting at a table and looking at the landscapes passing by outside the window, you realize that you have a simply magnificent view from here. 
On the ground floor of the train there is a kitchen and minibar. The kitchen is equipped with the latest technology, there is everything from ovens to a coffee machine. Ready meals are transported from the kitchen to the restaurant using special elevators. 
So, in terms of equipment, double-decker trains are several times superior to their single-decker counterparts. It does not matter that when entering the train the passenger will have to overcome several additional steps. But on the train there are dry closets, sockets, the Internet and other amenities of civilization.
The other day I was traveling from Moscow to Kazan on a new double-decker train. Russian Railways has several such trains. They mainly run between Moscow and Sochi, but they also go to Kazan. It was interesting to ride. By the way, the price is less than a regular coupe.
So, in this composition there is no reserved seat. Only coupe and St. Since the carriages are double-decker, it is logical that there are more passenger seats in one carriage than in a regular single-decker. Accordingly, the price should be lower. Let's see.
1. Russian Railways now has a new pricing system. If, for example, you look at tickets for this train, then on Friday it will be more expensive than on Monday or another weekday: 
2. This is what the diagram of a double-decker carriage looks like on the Russian Railways website. You can choose your seat when purchasing a ticket: 
3. On the platform of the Kazan station, the train looks, to put it mildly, unusual. In aviation parlance, this train is wearing Olympic livery. They launched it for the Olympic Games in Sochi: 
4. We go into the carriage: 
5. Workspace for conductors. Here, as in the old carriages, there is boiling water. There is no boiling water on the second floor: 
6.
7. At the entrance on the left there is a staircase leading to the second floor, exactly the same on the other side of the car. Just below the first floor compartment. 
8. Since my ticket was on the second floor, the photos will mostly be from there. The first one is exactly the same. We go up to the second floor. A mirror has been installed to prevent collisions with other passengers. Under the mirror there is a trash drawer: 
9. Second floor corridor. There are no sockets in the corridor, because... There are two of them in each compartment: 
10. Compartments are opened using magnetic cards. For some reason, these cards were not distributed in our carriage. Perhaps because the travel time to Kazan is only 1 night: 
11. I was traveling in the last compartment on the second floor. One: 
12. The compartment is a little cramped. This is felt due to the fact that the distance between the top shelf and the ceiling is almost the same as in a reserved seat between the passenger shelf and the luggage rack. Well, maybe a little more: 
13. Because downstairs everything is like in a regular compartment. Same volume. Not at all cramped. Sockets on each bottom shelf, very convenient: 
14. Probably the biggest disadvantage of double-decker cars is the lack of an upper luggage rack as in a regular compartment. There simply wasn't enough space. All luggage must be placed under the lower shelves: 
15. There is also not much space below. There was also some kind of metal casing in my compartment. I suspect that not all compartments have it and, accordingly, there is more space for luggage: 
16. One of the advantages is the mattress recessed into the shelf. Now you don’t need to constantly adjust your bed, which treacherously rolled out of its place in the old compartments: 
17. There is a mirror on the inside of the door, as before: 
18. Electronic lock. There is also a regular, mechanical one: 
19. Let's go down to the first floor and look at the toilets: 
20. Bio toilets. Does not close at stations. There are 3 of them per car and located in only one place. They are located at the opposite end of the car from the conductor. 
21. The toilet itself. Everything is clean, still new and nice: 
The other day I was traveling from Moscow to Kazan on a new double-decker train. Russian Railways has several such trains. They mainly run between Moscow and Sochi, but they also go to Kazan. It was interesting to ride. By the way, the price is cheaper than a regular coupe.
So, in this composition there is no reserved seat. Only coupe and St. Since the carriages are double-decker, it is logical that there are more passenger seats in one carriage than in a regular single-decker. Accordingly, the price should be lower. Let's see.
1. Russian Railways now has a new pricing system. If, for example, you look at tickets for this train, then on Friday it will be more expensive than on Monday or another weekday:
2. This is what the diagram of a double-decker carriage looks like on the Russian Railways website. You can choose your seat when purchasing a ticket:
3. On the platform of the Kazan station, the train looks, to put it mildly, unusual. In aviation parlance, this train wears Olympic livery. They launched it for the Olympic Games in Sochi:
4. We go into the carriage:
5. Workspace for conductors. Here, as in the old carriages, there is boiling water. There is no boiling water on the second floor:
7. At the entrance on the left there is a staircase leading to the second floor, exactly the same on the other side of the car. Just below the first floor compartment.
8. Since my ticket was on the second floor, the photos will mostly be from there. The first one is exactly the same. We go up to the second floor. A mirror has been installed to prevent collisions with other passengers. Under the mirror there is a trash drawer:
9. Second floor corridor. There are no sockets in the corridor, because... There are two of them in each compartment:
10. Compartments are opened using magnetic cards. For some reason, these cards were not distributed in our carriage. Perhaps because the travel time to Kazan is only 1 night:
11. I was traveling in the last compartment on the second floor. One:
12. The compartment is a little cramped. This is felt due to the fact that the distance between the top shelf and the ceiling is almost the same as in a reserved seat between the passenger shelf and the luggage rack. Well, maybe a little more:
13. Because downstairs everything is like in a regular compartment. Same volume. Not at all cramped. Sockets on each bottom shelf, very convenient:
14. Probably the biggest disadvantage of double-decker cars is the lack of an upper luggage rack as in a regular compartment. There simply wasn't enough space. All luggage must be placed under the lower shelves:
15. There is also not much space below. There was also some kind of metal casing in my compartment. I suspect that not all compartments have it and, accordingly, there is more space for luggage:
16. One of the advantages is the mattress recessed into the shelf. Now you don’t need to constantly adjust your bed, which treacherously rolled out of its place in the old compartments:
17. There is a mirror on the inside of the door, as before:
18. Electronic lock. There is also a regular, mechanical one:
19. Let's go down to the first floor and look at the toilets:
20. Bio toilets. Does not close at stations. There are 3 of them per car and located in only one place. They are located at the opposite end of the car from the conductor.
21. The toilet itself. Everything is clean, still new and nice:
23. This is what the vestibule with toilets and staircase on the second floor looks like:
22. And this is the conductor’s compartment. By the way, you probably know that smoking on trains is now prohibited. Conductors legally sell electronic cigarettes for 250 rubles/piece. You can smoke with them right in the corridor:
23. If in old carriages the space between carriages was closed and air circulated there, then in new carriages it is practically airtight. You can't smoke on the sly here anymore. In addition, the doors open automatically when you press the button and you cannot close them from the inside:
24. This is already a platform in Kazan:
That's all for now. See my next one. It is also two-story.
It is noteworthy that just a few days ago I had the pleasure of the famous which runs from London. The contrast is very great, I hope you will appreciate it soon. I'm still working on the footage.
New double-decker passenger trains began operating on the Moscow–Adler route in November, on the eve of the Olympic Games in Sochi. Despite the fact that the train has been used on this route for almost a year, it still attracts the attention of others. Moreover, there are radically opposite reviews about the two-story building - from quite positive to quite critical. I also had the opportunity to travel on this train. One of the important advantages of a double-decker carriage is its increased passenger capacity, which allowed Russian Railways to reduce fares. A standard double-decker compartment carriage has 64 berths (16 compartments), while a regular carriage has only 36 (9 compartments).
The cars are produced in Russia at the Tver Carriage Plant. So far, only one route is operating, connecting the capital with the resort Sochi. This year, another 50 double-decker cars will be purchased. They will transport people from Moscow to St. Petersburg and Kazan.
I suggest we take a ride together and see what a double-decker train looks like from the inside.
2. The train leaves at 10 am from the Kazansky station. Travel time - 25 hours. Note the difference in height compared to a regular single-deck carriage.
3. The train is driven by the latest dual-system electric locomotive of the fifth generation - EP20. Can operate on both AC and DC current.
4. This route has a dynamic pricing system - the more empty seats on the train, the cheaper the fare. There is also a 10% discount when purchasing round trip tickets. I bought a ticket 2 days before departure at a price of 8 thousand rubles. If you buy at least a week before the trip, the price will be around 5 thousand rubles.
5. Let's go inside. Tambour. The doors open with a button and close automatically. Transitions between cars are sealed. Since June 1, smoking has been prohibited on long-distance trains, but some bad passengers have poked holes in the ashtrays.
7. There are three toilets for each carriage. These are dry toilets, and you can use them at any time, including at bus stops.
9. Passage on the first floor. The ceiling height is just over 2 meters.
10. To lock the door in the compartment there are magnetic cards.
11. General view of the compartment on the first floor. The main difference from conventional single-deck carriages is the absence of an upper luggage rack. It’s also worth keeping in mind that you won’t be able to sit upright on the top bunk with your legs dangling. There are spaces for luggage under the lower shelves.
12. In each compartment there are two sockets on the bottom row. The lighting is entirely LED.
13. Inside of a compartment with the door closed.
14. The window does not open: the carriages have a centralized heating and ventilation system. The power supply for the cars comes from the locomotive. There is a sliding curtain on the window. Ventilation grilles are located under the window and on the ceiling.
15. Let's go to the second floor. The steps are illuminated (like in a movie theater), and there are handrails. On the stairs there is another trash container and a spherical mirror to see passengers coming towards you in advance.
16. The second floor is completely identical to the first. The only difference is this small slope of the roof. And the windows are below the waist, and you have to bend over if you want to admire the scenery from the corridor.
17. Upper shelves in the compartment on the second floor. There is a ventilation grille on the ceiling and a speaker with volume control in the center. Another interesting point I noticed is that on the second floor there are two personal lamps on each top shelf. This is probably due to the slope of the roof - not everyone may be comfortable lying with their head towards the window.
18. The rest is completely identical. I don’t know how it is for very tall people, but with my height of 182 cm, the length of the sleeping place was enough.
19. Each passenger is given a personal hygiene kit, a small food ration and water. Tea and coffee are served, of course, in branded cup holders.
20. While no one was there, I went straight to the dining car to investigate. The main hall is on the second floor. By the way, the views from the window on the second floor are better.
21. On the lower floor there is a small bar and the kitchen itself. And to lift prepared dishes upstairs, two small elevators are used.
22. On the way, the train makes several stops lasting from 5 to 15 minutes. All smoking passengers run outside at the first opportunity. For carriages, it does not matter whether the platform at the station is high or low
23. On the way from Moscow to the Voronezh region there was absolutely nothing to see outside the windows. If you're bored, you can try to use the free Internet. All carriages have WiFi routers with connections from Megafon. True, everything depends on the availability of a cellular network, and this is not very good along the route. In fact, more or less stable communications and the Internet were only on the Black Sea coast.
24. At stops you can observe provincial life.
25. In motion - admire nature.
26. Another stop. Rossosh station.
27. Not all views can be photographed properly - numerous wires get in the way. Sometimes, by the way, it turns out that fewer wires come into the frame from the windows of the first floor than from the second.
28. At 2 o’clock in the morning the train should arrive in Rostov-on-Don. Travel time passes unnoticed. Compared to an airplane, the train is much less hectic, more spacious, and gives you time to work. But this is not two hours on an iron bird.
29. In the morning the train leaves for the coast.
30. Vacationers look with interest at the double-decker train. Many people take photographs.
31. The path runs almost close to the water. Definitely the most picturesque part of the route.
32. At 10 am the next day I get off at the station in Sochi and go to the “Strategic Partnership 1520” forum. But more on that in the next part.
As for double-decker cars, they are many times better equipped than conventional single-decker ones. A little tighter on the top shelf? But there are normal toilets, sockets, internet and everything else.
Have you ridden one of these? How are your impressions?
